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That figure is at odds with national sentiment: Most Americans oppose that idea, which was put forth by the National Rifle Association in the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last month. According to a Public Policy Polling survey released Wednesday, 50 percent of American voters don’t want armed guards in schools, while 41 percent do.

The Virginia poll also found that the vast majority of voters in that state support background checks for gun purchases made at gun shows, 92 percent to 7 percent, and support “limiting gun purchases to one per month,” 60 percent to 36 percent.

An assault weapons ban, which some lawmakers have promised to introduce, is backed 58 percent to 39 percent by Virginia voters.

Half of those surveyed by Quinnipiac view owning guns as a way to combat crime, and 41 percent said gun ownership is risky.

The survey of 1,134 registered voters was conducted Jan. 4-7 and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.9 percentage points.

Readers' Comments (15)

I love how the same electorate that thinks teachers are part of a fascist union ideology, so therefore should never get a raise again because it's too expensive....want to find the tens-of-millions it would cost to put an armed guard in every school.

Ahhhh, "austerity". Defined as "less government spending unless it is something I want".

I think that this would be the perfect job for retired state and local police. They are trained in more than just how to use guns, such as how to determine a threat. It is the next best thing to having an active duty police officer stationed at the school.

Virginians didn't say they wanted armed guards in every school. The poll question was "Do you favor or oppose placing an armed police officer in public schools in Virginia?"

There's a difference between an armed security guard and an actual police officer (although Politico used the terms interchangeably in this article). And the Quinnipiac poll was not asking about police at EVERY school. The PPP poll, though, did ask about police officers in every school. I wish the Quinn. poll had been more specific.

Honestly, my husband and have talked about moving to Richmond or Charlottesville, but this makes me think that it isn't the state for us. I don't want my daughter in a school with an armed guard (which didn't work for Columbine). I'm sure someone will attack me for not loving my daughter enough or something, but obviously, she is the most precious thing in the world to me and we all make different choices that we think will best protect our children.

Yeah, i think this poll is BS! The Virginia state and local politicians are already trying to bleed Virginia residents dry by trying to raise taxes and fees to pay for roads and other pet projects the politicians want. Not to mention, those cops are gonna want overtime pay to be standing around the school and dealing with children. The money isn't there. And the state and local politicians need to stop bleeding the people dry for more and more revenue. I guarantee you societal immorality is the problem. And the politicians lead the way with their immoral conduct.

Yeah, if you have a SWAT team on guard in every school. Every door should be locked but one. That will have a metal detector, and a search with every student back pack. It's really pathetic to see the people that have guns don't even know about safety, and what they should do with their guns. The responsible gun owners have no problem with regulation. The killers do. Enough said.

An abortion is not murder, because the fetus is not viable. Beyond the viability age it is. The abortion law is to protect the Dr. I guess you don't remember about all the women who aborted themselves, and end up dead by bleeding to death. It was a mess, before the law came in existence. The women also set themselves up to become barren. That's right. The uterus became so screwed up that a lot of Drs. had to perform a hysterectomy. Many would end up in Septic shock, and die. Even now with the restrictions in Arizona, and other conservative states closing down abortion clinics, the women go to Mexico, and other places where it is legal. They again set themselves up to Drs. that shouldn't be practicing. It's unconstitutional to meddle with a women's life. It's better for everyone to respect sex, and just practice abstinence, living a moral life, then to end up not being able to accept the responsibility of a child. There are people out there that need your Christian disciple ship, not your judgment. Studying the Bible on a daily basis has proven to significantly curb your sexual appetite...for the better. It really works.

As a Virginia resident I can not believe that any one would be idiotic to suggest that we need armed personnel in a school. Must represent the "toothless trailer bats" who live in the sticks. The answer to violence is less guns not more.Despite the NRA and the Second Amendment it is possible to put reasonable restrictions on guns, ammunition and magazine clips. Nobody said boo when in the wake of 9-11 Bush started spying on Americans and completely trampled the First Amendment.

Sometimes I thinks "Shrinks" are right, people too concerned about guns are hiding an insecurity about a certain part of their anatomy

Armed guards in schools would certainly be an effective deterrent to shooters, but many object to having "more guns in schools".

But what about this:

In my garage, I have a can of hornet spray that can knock out a nest of nasty bugs from up to 30 feet away. Suppose that every teacher or principal could carry a similar non-lethal, but effective weapon like pepper spray (the strong stuff), or even a taser. There are lots of non-lethal weapons available, and the local police in every school district could teach qualified people how to use them. Even if such a non-lethal weapon was misused or discharged accidently, no one would die.

Has anyone yet proposed the use of non-lethal weapons in schools? Seems like a no-brainer to me.